Issue #634 - Sunday, June 16, 2024 Hello Fellow Grower, Today's issue is all about maximizing your results at harvest! - Can 3 days of darkness actually increase THC? You can supposedly increase the THC of your buds by giving plants a 3-day dark period before harvest. But does this old trick
actually work? We did an experiment, and the results surprised us!
- Harvest buds at the right time to maximize THC - Harvesting when buds have reached maximum potency is key to achieving the highest THC levels. Learn exactly when to harvest by comparing your buds against our extensive harvest picture galleries!
- You don't need special tactics to grow good weed - While there are many growing strategies to maximize your bud
potency, there is one ultimate trick to ensure buds come out great even if you make mistakes!
- Stunted Autoflower Showcase: Have you ever seen an autoflowering plant get stunted? It is a bit bizarre to see such a tiny plant with mature buds! Check out the pictures and learn how to prevent this from happening to you!
Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside
Co-Founders,
GrowWeedEasy.com
"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments." ~Janet Kilburn Phillips
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Does a 3-Day Dark Period Before Harvest Increase THC? by Nebula Haze
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Click here to view the full article on GrowWeedEasy.com Is there a last-minute trick to increase
THC right before harvest? If your cannabis plants are close to harvest, you probably want to make sure you do everything possible to maximize your results. What if I told you there might be a way to increase THC and overall bud quality in marijuana plants, right before harvest time?
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Enter the 3-day dark period. I’ve heard about this tactic multiple times over the years. Essentially, the idea is to “shock” your plant in the days leading up to harvest in hopes of increasing the potency of your buds. The most common tactic is to place your plants in total darkness for 3 days before harvest. Another tactic is to water your plants with ice
water. I’ve even heard a grower say that you should put nails through the main stem to “scare” your plant. But do these tactics work to increase bud quality, potency, THC, or anything measurable in cannabis plants? Keep reading to learn more about whether the 3-day dark period works to increase cannabis potency. Does the 3-day dark period actually work?I don’t know for sure. I have not seen any grower do an experiment yet besides me. (Keep reading to the bottom of the article for the first set of experiment results!) From a theoretical standpoint, I personally have difficulty imagining a vast difference in bud quality using last-minute tactics. My reasoning is that THC develops slowly
throughout the flowering stage. It takes “work” on the part of the plant to create molecules of THC. Even if stressing the plant increased THC production, how much extra THC could be produced in a few days? But I’ve grown cannabis long enough to know that sometimes what seems intuitive isn’t correct, which is why experiments are so helpful and powerful. Check out my other side-by-side cannabis growing experiments. I harvested buds off these two plants from before and after giving them a 3-day dark period. Let’s see how these buds test against each other in the lab. - Before 3-day dark period: 18.4% THC average
- Pacific Punch: 19.8% THC
- Runtz: 16.9% THC
- After 3-day dark period: 19.7% THC average
- Pacific Punch: 21.9%
THC
- Runtz: 17.6% THC
Wow! This was a spur-of-the-moment test without any controls, so take this with a grain of salt, but it’s pretty stark how much higher the THC tested after the 3-day dark period on both plants. The average is more than 1% higher. I must run more side-by-side experiments to see if this is a fluke. It’s hard for me to believe a dark period could increase the THC this much on a consistent basis. I wonder if there is
some other factor. Perhaps it was natural variation between the buds and it was a matter of luck which ones I picked. It’s also possible that harvesting half the plant caused stress that increased THC in the remaining buds. That would mean it actually had nothing to do with the darkness. Or there may have been some other unknown factor. A follow-up experiment is definitely coming. This first one was last minute and not well planned. There were no control plants. But the next
experiment will involve clones and I’ll harvest plants separately before and after the dark period to reduce the total number of variables. Maybe I’ll think up some other similar tests. Such an exciting time to be a grower! Closeup of one of the Runtz buds. When do I harvest for the highest THC?The buds on a cannabis plant start out with small amounts of THC from the beginning, but the amount increases steadily throughout the flowering stage. Most cannabis growers aim to harvest their plants right as the THC in the buds has reached the maximum level. Harvesting too early is one of the most common causes of growers being unhappy with the potency
of their buds. It's better to harvest too late than too early, as THC levels don't drop off right away. Some growers even prefer a later harvest as some of the THC begins degrading into CBN. This results in buds that are slightly less psychedelic ("head effects") but more physical ("body effects"). But how do you know the best time to harvest for the potency and effects you're looking for? The answer? Look at the
buds! Rough Estimate: Look at the buds with your eyes Buds are ready to harvest when they look solid and most white hairs have darkened and curled
in. More Accurate Method: Look at the buds under a magnifier - What to look for with a magnifier - Check out the trichomes look under magnification for the most accurate
way to know when they've achieved the highest levels of THC. A cheap jeweler's loupe costs under $10 and lets you see trichomes much closer! For those willing to invest a bit more, a $30 USB microscope can be hooked up to your smartphone to take up-close pictures and video.
No Special Tactics Needed for Fast, Potent HarvestsYou can use grower tricks to harvest more potent buds, but is there a way to absolutely ensure buds come out potent? Even if you don't do anything special? Or better, is there a way to produce high-quality, potent buds even if you make a lot of mistakes? It's possible, and the main thing you need to do is just to start with
a tough, potent strain with a stable harvest time. Why look for these 3 traits in a strain: - Hard to Stress - Hardy strains can take whatever you send at them, and still thrive in subpar or harsh environments.
- High THC - This gives you potency "buffer". Let's say you harvest buds a little early by accident, or make other mistakes. High-THC strains will still produce potent buds. Think about it: If your strain can
make up to 30% THC in good conditions, it will still give you a respectable 15% THC even if it only reaches half the maximum potency.
- Stabilized Strain - When you choose a highly stabilized strain, plants just grow the way you expect. You can often decide when to harvest just by following the breeder specifications. That means you don't need to pick the right time to harvest, but simply follow directions, to achieve max potency.
Here are some examples of
hardy, potent, stable strains that fulfill these requirements. Just keep them alive and harvest at the specified time. Follow these steps with the following strains and you are almost guaranteed amazing, potent weed. Photoperiod Strains (give 12/12 light schedule to make buds) - Bruce Banner Fast - This is a "fast" photoperiod strain that goes through the flowering stage quickly. This strain needs just 60 days after initiating 12/12 before buds are ready to harvest. "Fast" versions of strains are often descended from commercial grow operations and are specifically bred to perform fast and strong (with big yields) in the flowering stage.
- Mandarin Cookies V2 by Ethos Genetics - This is actually one of my favorite strains that I've grown. The buds smelled citrus sweet, sparkled like diamonds, and the effects were magically smooth. The plants were easy to grow and did well even in fluctuating temperatures. Harvest 70 days (2 months, 10 days) after switching to a 12/12 light
schedule for peak potency.
- Purple Punch by Barney's Farm - Ready to harvest 60 days after initiating 12/12. Plants tend to stay on the smaller side, while the buds have purple tones and lots of trichomes spilling out onto the sugar leaves.
Mandarin Cookies V2 I grew under an HLG 350 LED grow light. Autoflowering Strains (automatically make buds after about a month) - GG 4 Autoflower - This auto-flowering version of Gorilla Glue #4 is easy to grow and tends to grow fast. It is a forgiving strain that can handle a bit of stress and is ready to harvest at 70 days from germination.
- Cinderella Jack Auto - When I grew this strain, it produced the
densest and most potent buds of that entire auto-flowering grow. It responded well to plant training, and produced good yields even though it was in a crowded tent with 7 other autoflowering plants. Harvest at 80 days from germination.
- Planet of the Grapes Auto - Delicious grapes smell, high potency, medium height,
and super easy to grow. This strain is something special! Harvest at 80 days from germination.
The Cinderella Jack Auto I grew.
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📸 Trophy Pics of the Week
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This picture was taken last Fall. This my Purple Kush CBD Auto plant, quite pretty…
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…until you see the actual size of it!
This came from an auto-flowering feminized cannabis seed that I dutifully planted outside in the Spring. Maturity was supposed to be 63 days but when I saw how little it had grown, I left it in as an experiment to see how tall it would end up. It didn’t grow even another cm taller. I ended up harvesting it at 113 days. Any idea of what’s happened? Why did this autoflowering plant
stay so small and stunted? ~Carmen
Hey Carmen, This is such a great question that I wrote an article to explain exactly what happened. I have experienced this, too, and I shared pictures of when it happened to me! ~Nebula Recommended Cannabis Seed Sources
These sources have gotten great reviews from our readers:
- Seed Supreme – California, United States
- ILGM (I Love Growing Marijuana) – California, United States
- North Atlantic Seed Co. – Maine, United States
- MSNL – Netherlands bank with shipping centers in the US, Canada, and UK.
GrowWeedEasy.com has hundreds and hundreds of pages! Check out more resources related to auto-flowering strains and plant problems. If you love our
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Who Runs This Newsletter?
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Nebula Haze: When I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my mission to make it easy for new growers to get started while helping advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. We update/add articles every week. Anyone and everyone can grow if they want to! Learn which seed sources are recommended by Nebula Haze Sirius Fourside: Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture, bubbleponics). "Growing
cannabis can be a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, coco, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!" Copyright (c) 2024 GrowWeedEasy.com NOTE: If links aren't working or if pictures are not showing up properly, please view the full newsletter here: http://archive.aweber.com/gwe-updates Disclaimer: Grow Weed Easy only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we may receive a commission. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized Financial, Legal, or Medical Advice. The contributors to this magazine grow legally under their local laws but are not lawyers or medical professionals. Any decision to grow
marijuana should only be made after consulting with an experienced lawyer or other legal adviser. Any medical decisions should only be made after speaking with a doctor. Be safe! How Did I Sign Up For This Newsletter? Our records indicate that requested to be added to the GrowWeedEasy.com weekly newsletter at . Date: June 16, 2024
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